Kelvin Sampson doesn't know when it happened, and it doesn't matter, but sometime in the last three years, he changed.

He was no longer a former college coach working in the NBA. He was far from a coach biding his time until he could get back to the college game.

The players in his mind wore NBA colors, moved through NBA plays. After 25 years as a college head coach, he saw himself on NBA benches and practices.

"I look at myself as an NBA guy," said Sampson, who will join the rest of the new Rockets staff in Houston this week for the first time since he was made Kevin McHale's lead assistant. "This is exciting. I was really fortunate. You just get a fire that burns inside you."

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Sampson, 55, did not intend to make the jump when he finished the 2007-08 season as a consultant with the Spurs.

He had been cited for exceeding the number of phone calls permitted to recruits under NCAA rules while he was the coach at Oklahoma. During his second season as Indiana coach, the program was found to have made phone calls and text messages that exceeded the restrictions placed on Sampson because of the violations at Oklahoma.

Sampson would not answer questions about the allegations or his departure from Indiana, but at the time he denied the NCAA charge that he provided false or misleading information. He agreed to a buyout of the five years remaining on his Indiana contract.

The NCAA issued a five-year "show-cause" order on any member school that sought to hire him, effectively barring him from college coaching until 2013.

After his stint with the Spurs, Sampson joined Scott Skiles' staff with the Milwaukee Bucks and within three seasons, became a candidate for head coaching positions, including the job with the Rockets that was given to McHale.

"I had a little success as a college coach," said Sampson, who took Oklahoma to the Final Four and was twice the national coach of the year. "We did OK.

"Being in San Antonio, one of my favorite sayings is you don't know what you don't know. I talked to a lot of college guys that went straight from college to the NBA. Now that I've been in the NBA a few years, they weren't prepared to succeed. It's just a different game."

Sampson was one of the first coaches considered when the Rockets began their search to replace Rick Adelman. His interview with general manager Daryl Morey lasted roughly 14 hours.

Candidate with Rockets

When the Rockets narrowed their choices to McHale, Lawrence Frank and Dwane Casey, Morey told Sampson he was interested in hiring Sampson eventually anyway, but Sampson was happy in Milwaukee and a candidate for the Pistons' head coaching position.

"When Kevin called, they talked about an associate head coach/lead assistant opportunity," Sampson said. "At the time I was involved with the Pistons' head job. I said, 'Let's continue talking.' I wasn't sure how serious I was or how serious they were.

"It just evolved. Kevin and I must have visited for three or four hours. You could tell clearly there was a connection there."

McHale asked briefly about the NCAA infractions but said they were not much of a concern or consideration. He had even less issue with hiring a coach who had been a candidate for his job.

"I don't think like that," McHale said. "I just think the best people you surround yourself with, the better it's going to make you. I'm very confident in my basketball and where I'm at. I love to have people that are very confident and challenge me.

"We had a good time. We talked about basketball and life in general and the NBA and a lot of different stuff.

Good connection

"I liked his approach. He's been a head coach at so many different levels and for such a long time. He has a very, very good basketball mind. He has a good feel for how to implement it and how to work with guys.

"I came away really excited and really hoping that we'd be able to get him signed up."

Sampson felt the same way, but there are times he wonders about a return to college coaching and leaving it on better terms. But it is not a goal. It's can't be.

By now, three years and a few months since he left college coaching, he is "an NBA guy."

"I would be less than honest if I didn't say I hadn't thought about it," Sampson said. "Life is not always fair.

"Sometimes you are in certain situations for whatever reason. You push ahead. You move forward.

"I came into the NBA under different circumstances. OK, I'm here. I couldn't do anything about how I got here. Do the most with it.

"I became a sponge. I still have my wife, two children, my health — so many things to be thankful for. I'm really blessed to have this opportunity. I want to make the most out of it."